Responding to Positive/Negative Comments on Social Media

Responding to Positive/Negative Comments on Social Media

In the third series on Social Media Development, this Tip of the Month focuses on responding to positive and negative comments from followers.

Consumers read 90 percent of online reviews before considering a purchase or scheduling an appointment (BrightLocal, 2017). Responding to online reviews can allow you to engage and connect as well as taking an opportunity to remedy situations with consumers. The best way to handle all comments on social media platforms is to develop a plan or working template on how to respond to all varieties of comments. It is ideal to respond to every comment quickly, within a few hours. Positive reviews make 73 percent of consumers trust a local business more.

Audiologists/audiology managers should develop a social media etiquette protocol for all employees and/or the employee designated to manage social media platforms. Responding to all positive/negative comments can follow these easy steps listed below.

Steps for Responding to POSTIVE Comments

Thank the consumer for positive review. Be specific and genuine. Many consumers can tell when you use a template statement.

“Thank you, Margaret, for leaving a review.”

Use the business name and keywords in the response.

“The team at Audiology Clinic were happy to meet you earlier this week to discuss your hearing needs.”

Add a little marketing to the review response.

“Your new Bluetooth, iPhone-compatible hearing aids were an excellent selection to make it easier to have conversations over the phone.”

Invite the consumer to do something with your response.

“We look forward to seeing you again, and bring a friend!”

Always respond to negative comments! Although it may be tempting to delete the comment, it may prompt the commenter to continue to reply with more negative comments. Each response is worth your time to re-establish or re-connect with your consumers.

Steps for Managing NEGATIVE Comments

Apologize and sympathize in your response to the negative review. Although difficult or sometimes unfounded, make sure to show sympathy about having a bad experience.

“Margaret, I’m sorry to hear about your bad experience.”

Insert a little marketing in your response to the bad review.

“We typically follow exceptional customer service guidelines, and we regret that we provided such an unfortunate experience.”

“We’re normally known for our exceptional knowledge for fitting of custom hearing devices, and we regret that we missed the mark.”

Move the conversation offline. Provide information for the commenter to contact the office to discuss the problem.

“My name is [name] and I am the [Owner / Manager]. If you’d like to discuss this further, please contact me at [phone number / email].”

Keep your response simple, short, and sweet. A quick reply may prevent the customer from becoming more upset and continuing to leave negative reviews on your social media platforms.